Dancing Shadows
by ScarletCord
Summary: My first fanfic, Val is in involved in an accident, and she must learn to cope
1. Darkness Comes

Val

This is my first fanfiction piece, so don't be too hard on me, but let me know what you think. Happy reading

I don't own any of the characters of In a Heartbeat, so please don't sue, because I have no money. 

****

Val

I was running late for my shift at the station. It was a Saturday and I had hit the snooze button one to many times. My hair was still damp, and pulled messily up into a clip. And, go figure, my car wouldn't start, so I was jogging to the station. I know how Alex hates it when we're late. Hopefully, one of the guys would cover for me. 

I jogged down the block and I started to cross the street. I quickly glanced both ways, without really stopping, and didn't see anything coming. Then, in the corner of my eye I saw a flash of black metal. I heard a crash, and saw glass flying everywhere.

And then, everything went black

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

****

Tyler

We were all at the station, everyone except Val. I was getting worried. Our shift started 15 minutes ago, and Val wasn't one to be late. I don't think she had ever been late to a shift before. I guess I was pacing nervously, because Jamie said, "Sit down, Tyler, your going to wear a hole in the floor."

Before I could respond, the bell rang. We rushed out to the ambulance, and Hank took the call. "Ambulance 6, we have a white female, hit by an SUV, on the corner of Maple and White Water. "We're on it" Hank said. The dispatcher continued to give us her information as we sped along to the site. "We have reported injury to the leg, and eyes, as well as various cuts. She is reported as unconscious. The driver of the SUV is the one that called in. He says he is uninjured, he says he swerved to avoid hitting the girl, and he ran into a glass front of a diner. The diner was closed, so no one was hurt there. Glass shattered everywhere. That's all we have."

"We're here." Hank stopped the ambulance, and we got out quickly and Jamie grabbed the stretcher. And Hank got the box of first aid. It was a good thing that I wasn't holding anything because when I saw the victim, I almost fainted. 

Val was lying on the sidewalk, in her EMT uniform, blood everywhere. "Val," I breathed. I rushed to her side and began checking vitals. "BP's stable, pulse is weak, but stable, she's lost a lot of blood, lets get her out of here, now!" 

The rest of the trip went by in a blur. Hank drove straight to the hospital, siren wailing, lights flashing, and Jamie set her broken leg. Meanwhile, I was tending to her cuts, she had a major one on the side of her forehead right above her eye. But the thing that worried me most was the piece of glass that had scraped her right eye. 

Her usually tan skin looked extremely pale. And the blood from her cuts was matted in her hair and soaked in her EMT uniform. 

"Val," I said softly, "what happened? We'll get you to a doctor right away, just hang on," I was on the verge of tears. 

Thankfully, we pulled up at the hospital. The doctors were waiting, and the wheeled her into surgery as soon as we got there. We drove the ambulance over to the other side of the hospital, and told Alex what was going on. He let us stay in the main part of the hospital and wait for Val, and called in the relief squad. It was a good thing he did, because I was a wreck, and probably wouldn't be of much good, anyway. 

Hours later, (2am) I was allowed to go in and see her. I was told her eye had gotten infected and the infection had spread to the other one. She was temporarily, if not permanently, blind.

****

Val

"Val, are you awake?" I heard a voice. It seemed close, and familiar, but I couldn't see the voice's owner. I felt groggy, everything took a while to register. It was like my mind was wrapped in a dense fog. 

"Val, it's me, Tyler." His voice seemed to slowly lift me out of that fog. 

"Tyler," I mumbled. "Where am I? Why are my eyes bandaged?" 

He slipped his hand into mine. "Val, you're in the hospital. You were hit by a car on the way to the station. You have a dislocated knee and some damage to your eyes, from the glass shattering. The driver swerved to try not to hit you, and hit a store window. You leg was broken in 2 places and the doctors had to do surgery on your eye. Only one eye was damaged, but it was infected and the infection spread to the other eye."

"Tyler, am I blind?" I asked, sitting and ignoring the pain from various cuts and bruises. He took a deep breath. "The doctors say there is a good chance that in time, you might regain your sight…"

I interrupted him, "Don't sugarcoat it, Tyler."

"They said that right now, you won't see anything yet. You have to keep the bandages on for the next week in order to give your eyes a chance to heal."

I put my head in my hands. "Do my parents know?"

"Yeah, the doctors were able to get in touch with them. They said they would call back and talk to you later. They should be calling in the morning."

I moved my hands away from my face and turned to Tyler, thoughts swirling around in my head. "This changes everything," I said. "School, cheer leading, the squad. Everything normal in my life is being stripped away." I was surprised at how calm I sounded. I guess I was in shock. It hadn't really sunk in yet. And I knew that there would be plenty of time for heart-wrenching sobs later. Right now I just needed information. 

"Doesn't a doctor normally tell you this kind of stuff?"

"Yeah, but they thought you might take it better if someone close to you broke the news." 

"Thanks. Speaking of which, where is everybody?"

"Um, Val, it's 2 am, the doctors sent everybody home. They all promised to stop by 1st thing in the morning." 

I was touched. "Tyler, you stayed up for me?"

"Of course, Val, you needed someone here." I could almost hear him blushing. He was being incredibly sweet. "You better go home and get some rest, Tyler, especially if you've been up all this time." 

"I'd rather stay here, there is a couch here I could stay on. If you don't mind. I've been really worried about you." 

"That sweet, Tyler. You really would do that for me?" 

He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I care about you, Val. Through this whole thing I've been doing some thinking. When I saw you lying on the sidewalk covered in blood, I realized how precious life is. You had lost so much blood, I was scared I would lose you. I'm so glad you're going to be okay. I want to stay, to make sure this isn't a dream." 

"Of course," I said, drifting off. "And, Tyler, thank you." 

Well, what do you think? I'm new to fanfiction.net, so let me know if it is any good. I'm not going to say I have to get a million reviews to continue, cause really, I write for myself. I have an idea that pops into my head and it turns into a story, and if others can enjoy it, that just makes it better. But please let me know what you think. I love reviews. Constructive criticism and ideas are always appreciated. But if you don't like it, please tell me what you don't like, not just that it stinks. Thanks! ScarletCord


	2. Opened Eyes

A/N – I know nothing about going blind, except what I have seen on movies and TV – mostly that one episode of Walker where he goes blind and then regains his sight, that was before he and Alex got married, - but anywho, if you know anything about it, or 

A/N – I know nothing about going blind, except what I have seen on movies and TV – mostly that one episode of Walker where he goes blind and then regains his sight, that was before he and Alex got married, - but anywho, if you know anything about it, or if anything I write is medically untrue (is that even a word?) let me know. Thank you to all who reviewed, I finally decided on a name! It might not be the best name, but hey, what's in a name? I don't own anything. Oh, and Momo Claus, I will definitely have some of the other characters in this too. Thanks and happy reading! ScarletCord

The next morning…

****

Val

I awoke with a start. It took me a minute to figure out where I was and what had happened. Then it all came rushing back to me. I groaned. More from the situation then the pain, although I was quite sore in various places, and I had a serious throbbing in my knee. "Ugg," I moaned. 

"Hey, sleepyhead," Tyler said. I heard him stand up from where he was sitting on the couch and came over. "It's 9:30. Your parents should be calling any minute. And everybody else should be here around ten."

My parents were on a business trip turned vacation. They were spending two weeks in Europe, the first week spent in meetings, and the second week for sightseeing. "My parents are going to want to catch the first flight home. I don't want them to miss out on their vacation because of me, you know. They've been through so much with my dad's heart and all, this was their time to relax. And they're not going to want to let me and Brooke stay at my house alone if I can't see." 

"Well, if it's okay with your parents, you and Brooke could stay with me. I mean, it would only be for a week, because you'll be here for the next three days, and your parents left four days ago, and we have a whole guest suite, so you guys could have your own space, and my mom and William won't care, I'm sure."

"Oh, Tyler, that would be great. Are you sure your parents won't mind?" 

"No, they'll be fine, they always say I should have more people over, and they know you, Val. I'm sure they would be glad to help out in any way possible." 

"Thank you, Tyler. I just hope my parent's say it's okay." Just then, the phone rang. I reached for it, feeling around on the table beside my bed. 

"Do you want me to get it?" Tyler asked. 

I shook my head. "This is something I need to do myself." I found the phone on the fourth ring. "Hello." It was my mom. She sounded really worried and I assured her that I was fine. She wanted, as I had expected, to get on the next flight home. I explained that Tyler had offered for us to use his guest suite, and that she and my dad needed some time to relax. After about five minutes of reassuring and convincing, she said she would call Tyler's mom and make sure that it was all right. She promised to call me every day. 

I talked to my dad, telling him the same things I had told my mom. Then he put her back on.

"How is Brooke?" she asked. 

"I don't know, she should be coming in a few minutes, she stayed with Catie last night."

"How are you doing, really," 

"Well, I don't think it's totally sunk in yet, I think I'm still in a little shock, but I'll be okay." I turned my head to where Tyler was sitting and smiled at him. "I have some great friends to back me up." There was a knock at the door, and a nurse said, "You have some visitors." 

"Mom, I've got to go, Brooke's here. I'll talk to you later, okay? I'll be at the hospital for the next three days, then you can call me at Tyler's. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay, bye mom.

"Bye, Val." 

I carefully returned the phone back to its cradle and asked Tyler, "Who's here?"

"Everyone, but you're only allowed 2 people in at a time. So I'll go get them." 

"Val," Brooke sounded unsure, worried. 

"Oh, Brooke, come here," I said sitting up and wrapping her into a hug. I pulled away after a minute, and I gently touched her cheek. My hand came away wet. "Please don't cry, Brooke. I'm okay, really." She took my hand. 

"Are you? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better? Come on, Val. I'm your sister. And I know when something's wrong. I also know that if this happened to me, I would be devastated. Talk to me."

I bit my lip. I really didn't want to break down now. I still hadn't talked to the others. I knew what Brooke was doing. She knew that I would try to keep everything stored inside, to be strong for them, and would end up losing it big time. It would be easier for all of us if I let it out now. "Okay, but let me talk to the others first, and then we'll have some sister time. Okay?" 

"Okay. I love you, Val"

"I love you too, Brooke."

Catie came in next and gave me a hug. "Hey, how are you?" 

"Well, I've been better, but most people in the hospital can say that." We talked for a few minutes, and then she asked, "Are your parents coming home?" 

"No, Brooke and I are staying at Tyler's." I could just imagine the way her eyebrows would shoot up, and the look she would give me. "Don't look at me like that." I said. 

"Hey, I thought you were blind!" 

"Yeah, but I know you too well. And I know the look that you're giving me right now. I've already okayed it with my parents. I'm staying in his guest suite with Brooke." 

"Mm hmm" 

"Come on, Catie. Or relationship is totally platonic. We are just friends." 

"Yeah, and that's why he stayed up all night waiting for you, and why he slept on the couch in your room, and why he's inviting you to stay at his house so your parents can finish their vacation, and"

"Okay, okay, so he is being incredibly sweet." I lowered my voice to almost a whisper. "And I think I want to be more than friends, and I think he feels the same way. I just hope he asks me out soon, or I'll have to make the first move. And you know I like to do it the old fashioned way, and have the guy ask me out. 

Catie took a deep breath and was about to reply when Jamie's voice came from the doorway. "You two done yet?" Catie gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, "He likes you as more than a friend, and you were just too blind until now to see that. Now that you can't see, I think your eyes have been opened." 

That left me thinking. Could Catie be right? Could some good really come out of this? Since I had talked to Brooke, I had felt about ready to burst with emotions, not many of them good. Anger, confusion, pity, who knows what else. But after talking to Caite, things didn't seem so bad. I still felt confused, and sorry for myself, but somewhere out there was some hope. I just had to reach out and try to grasp it. I guess that's what best friends are for. 

I heard two sets of feet walking in the room. "Let me guess, Hank and Jamie." 

"Yeah, that's us." Jamie said, giving me a hug. 

"How are you doing, Val" Hank gave me a hug too. 

I went through the basics. Tyler had told them about me staying with him, and Hank had talked to the doctors, so they knew all of the technical stuff. They just wanted to see how I was holding up. It was great to have such great friends. 

So, what do you think? I finally got the second chapter written. I greatly appreciate any feedback and or criticism. Thanks for reading! ScarletCord 


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